Albus Magnet
by Thatsnotcool11
Summary: There's always that person; One person that you never talk to, never spend any time with, but still feel as if you know. And even though you aren't doing it consciously, you pay attention to them. Well for Albus, that person was Scorpius Malfoy.


There's always that person; that one person that you never talk to, never spend any time with, but still somehow feel as if you know. And even though you aren't doing it consciously, you pay attention to them. You look up when you hear their name, recognize the sound of their voice. They're like a magnet for your eyes, an involuntary reaction, like a sneeze. Well for Albus, that person was Scorpius Malfoy.

Albus always new which hallway he would pass Malfoy in, but assumed he was just being observant. He always knew which girl ol' Scor was out gallivanting with, but marked that down those gossipy girls in his History of Magic class. Any random facts he happened to know about Scorpius could very easily been considered common knowledge, considering how popular the guy was.

He was not, though, popular with the Potter family. When any hint of the Malfoy family came up in casual dinner conversation, Albus' father would get wound up and say things like, "It's funny how fast people seem to forget who was a traitor and who wasn't. The Malfoy's were Deatheaters before and their Deatheaters now, they are not to be trusted."

Albus would nod along as he'd long since learned not to even touch this topic with his father. Accepting that he had any particular interest in the youngest Malfoy would be familial suicide. Not that he had any reason to; Albus hadn't spoken a word to the guy in his whole life.

The fact that Albus had been especially aware of Scorpius' existence had not been totally lost on him, though he pretended it was nothing more than a fluke. The strange feeling he got when hearing or seeing said Malfoy was easily chalked up to guilt at not feeling the same hatred as his father. Well, maybe hatred was a bit too strong a word for what his father felt. It was more like intense dislike combined with very strong distrust.

The only time Albus had truly given deep thought to Malfoy's presence in his life was after he had woken suddenly from a very strange dream involving himself, Malfoy, and an empty courtyard.

He had been walking to class, holding his brand new Lightning Strike 22 broom stick and a letter from the captain of England's Quidditch team begging him to go play for them, when suddenly Malfoy knocked his things out of his hands. Albus went to shove Malfoy in return when the Slytherin boy swiftly grabbed onto his wrists and pinned him to the wall of the courtyard.

Now Malfoy isn't much bigger than Albus himself, but for some reason it seems a person is always a good deal weaker than usual in dreams. Being so, Albus struggled against the blonde's strong grip for a moment, but stopped suddenly as Malfoy leaned to whisper in his ear.

The situation was so unbelievably strange that Albus was having trouble comprehending what was happening. Malfoy spoke softly in a way that was almost sensual, catching the young Potter off guard. He spoke only one word, but in that word there was a hint of desire, a pinch of something that sent a spider web of sensation tingling across Albus' skin.

"Albus…" Malfoy murmured in his ear. He spoke Albus' name in a way the fifth year had never heard it before, just a whisper of longing mixed with an undercurrent of emotion that made his face burn.

Hot breath ran down his neck and Albus' voice caught in his throat. He felt a hand placed on his lower back, and another forcing Albus to look up into Scorpius' face. Though his wrists were now released, Albus made no move to run. Malfoy slowly descended closer to Albus' face, his eyes focused on the Gryffindors trembling lips. With the sound of Albus' own heartbeat pounding in his ears he closed his eyes, waiting. He could feel Malfoy's breath tickling his lips, so very close to closing the distance between them. And with that, Albus woke suddenly. The red curtains on his four poster bed waved mockingly at him in the breeze from the window he had left open the night before.

When Albus was fully awake, the beet red boy sat frozen in between his white cotton sheets in terror. Why had he dreamt so vividly about a guy he had never even spoken to? Why had he dreamt about a _guy_? His eyes stung and his face blazed as he stared in unblinking terror at his shaking hands, the sheets curled in his fists.

Albus was almost too humiliated to go to his morning classes, despite that he didn't have any with the Slytherins today. It took a lot of deep breathing and self assurances to get him out of bed and into the shower. He repeated the same words over and over to himself as he got ready for the day, chanting them in his head until his doubt was, if not completely squashed, buried deep. '_I'm not gay. I like girls. I am NOT gay._' This became his new mantra.

Albus never dreamt of Scorpius Malfoy again after that, though the Slytherin did become a constant intrusion on Albus' thoughts. He found is gaze wondering in Malfoys direction more often than not, his thoughts drifting from his charms essay to the exact shade of Malfoys eyes. Albus never acted on his feelings though, not a word was spoken between the two for over a year afterwards. In fact, the next contact between them would be in Albus' sixth year potions class.

"Now who can tell me what this special little mixture is called?" Professor Dunbar challenged them, her gaze hunting down the most likely not to know the name of the potion. It was almost a game of hers, a game they all knew and dreaded. Some even swore she could read the minds of students. She called on Albus' partner, a small smile playing out on her thin lips. "Alexander?" Professor Dunbar always called her students by their first name. She claimed it made them seem more like friends rather than teacher and student. Ha.

Andy shifted uncomfortably, his eyes flickering from the potion quickly to glance at me. Albus understood this move to be a cry for help, and lucky for Andy he just so happened to know the name of this potion. Albus scratched out 'Amortentia' out on the corner of his parchment, and Andy peeked quickly.

"Amortentia, Professor." He spoke confidently, shooting Albus a grateful look. Suddenly Albus felt his parchment fly out from under his hand, and his heart dropped into my stomach. Professor Dunbar hated cheating almost as much as she hated anyone with a Y chromosome. The paper floated lazily into his Professors awaiting hand, and she glared at Albus from in front of his and Andy's table.

"Well isn't this just the most amazing coincidence! Alexander, who I know for a fact did not do his assigned Potions homework, got the correct answer, while Mr. Albus Potter over here just happened to have the name of that exact potion on his parchment." A couple of students sniggered. "Isn't that peculiar?" Professor Dunbar said scathingly.

"Yep, pretty strange Professor." Albus said, moving to take his notes back. Professor Dunbar pulled it out of his reach, tutting sadly.

"I do hate to do this, boys, but it seems it is the only way." Alex sighed resignedly, doodling on the table with his quill. "Two points from Gryffindor." She quipped, and when she got no reaction from the two boys she added, "And Albus, you will move your things to sit by…" She scanned the room. "Scorpius." Albus' head shot up immediately in shock, then flung a horror struck look in Malfoys direction to gauge his reaction. It appeared he either did not hear her, or just didn't care. He probably didn't even know Albus existed.

"But, Professor-"

"This will be a _permanent _seating arrangement." She informed them vindictively, a smirk of victory playing out on her face. It seemed she had finally gotten a reaction out of Malfoy, but he just lifted his head to stare blank faced in Albus' direction, then turned back to his potions book nonchalantly.

Numbly Albus gathered his things and moved to the back of the classroom to sit by the person who had so very much of his attention. He was nervous and felt uncomfortably close to the older boy. It had always seemed to Albus that Scorpius Malfoy was to be seen, but never touched. And here he was, just a few inches from the guy.

Professor Dunbar had gone back to teaching and Malfoy continued to flip through his potions book, while Albus sat stiff as a board, trying not to breathe too loudly. After about twenty minutes of this, Professor Dunbar assigned them to make the Amortentia potion with their partners. She tapped the chalkboard twice, and the instructions for the potion appeared.

Albus was very good at Potions. His Dad had said Albus had to have gotten that from his Mum, because _he_ had been absolute rubbish at potion making. Albus quickly scanned over the ingredients, then retrieved them from the storage cabinet while muttering under his breath the instructions for Amortentia.

"1 Ashwinder Egg, a pinch of dried Peppermint-" Albus' hands went to work immediately, crushing and dicing and stirring. He had gone into his own world, where the most important thing was getting this potion to come out correctly.

"I guess I should consider myself lucky to have you as a partner, Potter." Spoke a cool voice to his left. Albus' almost sliced his finger open, having almost forgotten who he was currently partnered with. He glanced up quickly to see Malfoy surveying him and then shakily went back to dicing the rose thorns.

"Oh, I don't know about that." Albus said, hoping his voice wouldn't crack. His eyes flashed to Malfoys folded hands, and for a moment he wondered if Malfoy had wanted to make the potion. It was never a question when he was with Andy, Albus made the potions while Andy offered comic relief. "Do you want to powder the Moonstone?"

Malfoy didn't respond, just picked up the stone and began to crush it in his marble mortar. After a few minutes of working together in silence, Albus began to feel more comfortable around the quiet boy. Maybe this wouldn't be as terrifying as he had thought. Albus reached for the cutting knife just as Malfoy was reaching for the pestle, which were sitting side by side. Malfoys hand brushed his and Albus froze, pulling his hand back quickly. They were warmer than Albus had imagined they would be, warmer than they were in his dream.

'More like a nightmare' Albus thought to himself without conviction.

Malfoy merely raised his eyebrows at the Gryffindor and went back to work. Albus tried to do the same, but images from the dream he had always tried so hard not to remember were pounding through his head at the speed of light. Every gasp for breath, every tingle, Albus remembered with definite clarity. His breathing became shallower, and his hands trembled minutely.

"Hey Potter…" Malfoy paused. "Potter, are you alright? Albus?" Albus' jumped at the sound of his name, and he realized Malfoy had been trying to get his attention.

"Me? Yeah, I'm fine sorry. Zoned out for a minute I guess. No big deal though, sorry." Albus' rambled, attempting to fix his sloppy cutting of the last rose thorn. But really his mind was still replaying Malfoy's voice as he said Albus' name, in such contrast to the way Albus' dream Malfoy had spoken it.

The class ended and Albus' bolted, leaving Malfoy to turn in their Amortentia sample. He was worried he'd done something wrong, because the potion didn't seem to have any specific smell, while it is supposed to give off a smell that attracts that specific person. Not that it truly mattered; Albus' grade was very high in Potions class.

Potions was Albus' last class for the afternoon but dinner wasn't for another hour and a half, and Albus was feeling very hungry. He decided a quick trip to the kitchens was in order, pushing his strange Potions class to the back of his mind. About ten minutes later Albus was tickling the pear on the fruit bowl painting, and slowly creaked the portrait open just wide enough to sneak through.

The House Elf's hadn't noticed his appearance yet, just as he'd hoped. Albus watched as they prepared a great feast, all the while seeming to be thoroughly enjoying themselves. Almost all the House Elf's were wearing some kind of clothing, which was a pretty big change from about 15 years ago, or so he heard. They all received a weekly payment for their services as well, which was not yet a law but well on its way to becoming one if Albus' Aunt Hermione got her way.

"Mr. Albus Potter, sir!" Albus' favorite House Elf cried, rushing towards his with wide and excited green eyes.

"Hey Bulby, how've you been?"

"Oh Bulby has been very well, sir! Very well indeed, for Bulby has a new lady friend he does." Albus burst out laughing at this and followed Bulby further into the kitchen.

Albus spent a good hour in the kitchen with Bulby and his new 'Lady Friend' Sippy, snacking on frosted cakes and treacle tarts, but had to go back to work on his Charms essay, seeing as he had been having focusing problems the last time he tried.

His trip to the Gryffindor common room went uninterrupted up until the fourth floor where, because life is so very unfair, he saw Malfoy.

"Do you even like me? Cause if you do, I sure can't tell." Lucy Higgs snapped at Malfoy, who just stared at her blank faced. Albus stayed in the shadows, feeling uncomfortable at witnessing this obviously private event, but couldn't seem to tear his eyes away. "Scorpius, answer me. Do you like me?" There was a long stretch of silence where the couple just stared at each other. Finally Malfoy broke the silence.

"No." He spoke quietly, and Albus thought he'd heard a tiny hint of guilt.

"What did you just say?" Lucy said in shock, her voice barely a whisper.

"No, I don't like you. Well, not romantically..." Lucy took a shaky step away from a remorseful looking Scorpius. "Luc, please it's not you-"

"_Don't_ call me that." Lucy hissed at him, tears spilling onto her cheeks. She turned on her heel and stalked away, her books tucked close to her chest. Scorpius didn't move for a long time, and for fear of being discovered, Albus didn't either.

"Please leave." Malfoy called out into the silence after a minute or two, and Albus' eyes widened in fear. Had Malfoy known he was there the whole time?

"You're the last person I want to see right now, Potter." Malfoy said callously. Albus was surprised to hear such brutality in Malfoys tone. It felt like a punch to the gut to hear those words come from the mouth of someone whose opinion Albus' so greatly cared about.

Without speaking, Albus ducked his head and sped down the hall, crossing in front of Malfoy without so much as a glance in the blonde's direction.

"Albus," Malfoy started tiredly, running a hand over his face. "I didn't mean that-" Albus kept up his speed the whole trek to the Great Hall, where he found he was not hungry in the slightest, and not just because of his earlier snack.

Later that night, Albus lay unblinking in his four-poster. Why wouldhe of all people be 'the last person' Malfoy would want to see? It wasn't like Albus expected to be the first or anything, but the last? That was not deserved at all. Unless… Had he offended Malfoy in some way during potions?

Thoughts of Malfoy kept Albus up until very late, meaning the next morning he would inevitably be grumpy. Albus already was not a morning person, but coupled with lack of sleep, he became what his family fondly referred to as "Albasaures Rex".

"Morning Albus." Terrence Jordan mumbled sleepily as he passed Albus on the way to the bathroom.

"Ugmph.." Albus groaned in response, making Terrence snort. Most of the other guys had already gone down for breakfast, and it wasn't uncommon for them to be the last two in the tower.

Albus dressed clumsily, too impatient to wait on Terrence for a shower. He stumbled groggily down the corridors leading to the Great Hall, only keeping his eyes open enough to stop himself from tumbling down the staircase. When someone said his name, he mumbled back a halfhearted "Mornin'…", not even bothering to see who it was.

Finally he reached the Great Hall, where his sister Lily was motioning for him to sit next to her with a wide smile. Albus didn't especially wish to sit with fourth years, but never one to hurt his sisters feelings (Unlike his older brother James), he complied with a furrowed brow.

"Hey Albus, guess what?" Lily said in a sing song voice, dragging out her syllables for dramatic effect.

"What." He said in a bored tone, stealing a piece of her toast. Her grin grew wider, which he'd not thought quite possible. Lily's friends were smiling at him admiringly in a way that used to boost his ego, but now only served to further annoy him.

"I know someone who fancies you." She said, still dragging out her words. Albus rubbed his face tiredly. This was important why?

"Is that so?" He muttered, taking a small bite of the pilfered toast. Lily nodded enthusiastically.

"Yep! She's in your year." This caught some of his attention.

"Well go on," He said, only slightly more alert. "Spit it out." Lily and her friends giggled, glancing across the Hall. Albus followed their gaze to a group of Ravenclaws. He couldn't be sure, but it seemed as if they'd turned away just as he'd turned to look.

"Okay, but you didn't hear it from us." Lily said earnestly. "It's Mai Langston!" Well, this _was_ news. Mai Langston was a pretty Asian girl in Albus' year who he had only spoken to a few times.

"Isn't that-"

"Dad's ex-girlfriends kid? Yes!" Lily bit her lip excitedly, throwing a look at her friends. "Look, he's totally thinking about it." They giggled, and Albus rolled his eyes at them, standing up.

"Well thanks for the heads up, Lil." He murmured thoughtfully, tuning out their girly chatter. Andy had left him a seat which he quickly filled, piling food onto his plate. Andy looked over at him with a mouthful of eggs.

"Wha wah hat all 'bou?" He said unintelligibly, spraying bits of egg as he spoke. Albus grimaced at him, brushing some off of his shoulder.

"Andy, you really should learn how to swallow. Or chew. Or both, as most people are capable of." Andy grinned unashamedly. "You seriously must be related to me, you eat like the rest of the men in my family." It was true, Andy fit right in when he came to the family get-togethers. Andy swallowed dramatically, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"So? What did Lily want?" He persevered. Albus shrugged nonchalantly, taking a bite of his sausage.

"She said Langston fancies me." There was silence, and Albus looked up to see Andy's slack jawed expression.

"Your lack of enthusiasm is almost offensive. _Mai Langston _likes _you._" Andy said, annunciating each word as if Albus had somehow misunderstood the first time.

"No, what's offensive is the way you say that." Albus said, not quite awake enough to be bothered. "So what?"

"_So what!" _Andy said disbelievingly. "You'd have to dig blokes not to want some of that." Albus froze, his heart thudding hard in his chest. He coughed to cover his sudden intake of breath, faking indifference.

"She's pretty." Albus agreed, hoping Andy would drop it. Andy rolled his eyes, finishing his plate with a loud crunch of bacon, his face colored with disapproval.

"I worry about you sometimes, you know that?"


End file.
